Alton Marching 100 gets new look

ALTON — For the first time in 10 years, the Alton High Marching 100 will have a new look.

“They are totally new uniforms with a totally different design,” Alyssa Cudney, director of bands, said. “We have new jackets, new pants, new everything.”

Cudney said that 10 years was the average lifespan for band uniforms. She also said that there were more students becoming involved in the band than there were total uniforms.

“It was the best kind of problem to solve,” Cudney said.

The new wardrobe came with a hefty price of $65,000, but Cudney said they were guaranteed by warranty for 10 years. She said that the school purchased 200 of them as opposed to the nearly 150 that were previously in use.

The Alton Marching 100 will debut their new look at the Alton Halloween Parade Friday night. According to Cudney, the students enjoy the new apparel.

“I asked them to stay after school for a bit on Tuesday to try them on,” she said. “They were a bit weary of them at first.”

Apparently, the former uniforms had a helmet that had been part of the look since the 1980s. Cudney said that the helmet has been replaced with a more modern look of a flat-topped hat, something the students fully appreciated after wearing them for the first time.